Everyone Agrees: LaGuardia Airport Is The Worst

New York City's three main airports are regularly ranked on lists of airports travelers try hardest to avoid, but it's LaGuardia that nearly always lands the dubious honor of being named the worst of the worst. (Its detractors include no less than Vice President Joe Biden, who once famously likened LaGuardia to "a third-world country.") The Wall Street Journal took potshots at its hometown airport in March, quoting one flier who complained that "the Denver airport is like a Hyatt, and this is a one-star Holiday Inn." Condé Nast Traveler readers agreed, ranking LaGuardia the worst airport in the United States in our annual Readers' Choice Awards.

Adding additional insult to injury is this year's annual airport ranking from The Points Guy. The site pulled data from the Federal Aviation Administration, the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, J.D. Power, Google Maps, and more to rank America's 30 busiest airports based on a range of factors including average travel time from the city center, airport amenities (think: shops, bars, restaurants), typical security line wait time, and number of delays. Coming in dead last? You guessed it: LaGuardia, which had the longest average flight delays, longest drive times to the airport (lacking a connection with a major transit hub, it regularly takes an hour to get there from Manhattan), and most expensive parking. Despite some cosmetic attempts to make the airport a slightly friendlier place (we see you, Artichoke Pizza franchise), the Queens airport still has travelers regularly contending with roof leaks, lack of seating and outlets, and delays so long they've been known to cause public meltdowns.

Still, there is some hope out there for the country's most-maligned airport. The state of New York has approved a $4-5 billion overhaul of LaGuardia, which will include a tear-down of Terminal B (currently known for its families of nesting pigeons), the building of a larger new central terminal, and connections with the 7 subway line, which will cut down on the number of people who have to drive or take a taxi to get to the airport. Some of the upgrades and renovations will be unveiled by 2019, with the full overhaul set to be complete by 2021. If executed well and on time, the transformation of LaGuardia Airport could be as big a comeback story as the 2016 Chicago Cubs.